Rafael Nadal's Watch To Go Under The Hammer For Charity

The watch Rafael Nadal wore while playing on the courts of Monte Carlo earlier this year is destined for auction to benefit charity.

On September 22nd, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco will preside over the fourth “Only Watch” auction of exceptional watches in Monaco. The proceeds of this event, organized by Antiquorum Auctioneers, Geneva, will be used to support research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Keen to support such a worthy cause, watch brand Richard Mille has decided to contribute a unique and symbolic watch to this charity auction.

Instigated in 2005 by Luc Pettavino, president of the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophies, Only Watch mobilizes the world’s most prestigious watchmakers. All proceeds raised by auctioning these exceptional timepieces will be used to fund research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an extremely debilitating neuromus­cular disease that affects one boy in every 3500.

Having supported Only Watch from the beginning, Richard Mille wanted to donate one of its most emblematic creations to Only Watch 2011: the RM 027 tourbillon developed for and in collaboration with Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal has worn this watch in every match he has played since 2010, which is unique in the history of tennis.

The RM 027 to be auctioned is the very watch worn by Rafael Nadal when he won the 2011 Monte Carlo championships for the seventh year running. This RM 027 is also the prototype used for pre-production testing, the results of which were, of course, extremely positive. The mechanism has never failed during any of the matches played by Rafael Nadal while wearing this watch.

True to the spirit of Only Watch, which offers collectors the opportunity to acquire cutting-edge timepieces, the RM 027 is a technical marvel. This tourbillon watch has a manual winding mechanism and weighs less than 20 grams including the strap. Several years of research and development went into creating this model, of which only 50 limited edition pieces were made.

In April, at the end of the Monte Carlo championships in Monaco, Rafael Nadal met Paul, Luc Pettavino’s son, a 15-year-old boy who is struggling against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Some 250,000 victims suffer from this severe disease across the world. In a symbolic gesture, the world’s Number 1 tennis player handed Paul his watch, the sale of which will help fight his disease.